Peter Matthiessen:

A Preliminary Inventory of an Addition to His Papers in the Manuscript
Collection at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center

Creator:

Matthiessen, Peter, 1927-

Title:

Peter Matthiessen, Addition to His Papers

Dates:

1950s-2003

Extent:

27 boxes, 1 oversize box (13.10 linear feet)

Abstract:

This collection of Peter Matthiessen Papers is an addition to accessions received in 1995 and 1998, for which preliminary inventories are also available. Included are recent works, articles and essays, correspondence, personal and career-related material, books, and audio cassettes.

The University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center

This collection of Peter Matthiessen Papers is an addition to accessions received in 1995 and 1998, for which preliminary inventories are also available. Included are recent works, articles and essays, correspondence, personal and career-related material, books, and audio cassettes.

The Papers are organized in three series: Series I. Works, ca. 1967-2003 (bulk 1997-2003); Series II. Correspondence, 1975-2002; and Series III. Personal and Career-Related, ca. 1950s-2003.

The Works Series includes research material, notes, typescript drafts, and publication material for recent books in Subseries A: Birds of Heaven: Travels with Cranes (2002), Bone by Bone (1999), End of the Earth, Voyages to Antarctica (2003), and Tigers in the Snow (2000). Also present are galley proofs for Killing Mr. Watson (1990) and an excerpt from Lost Man's River (1997).

Subseries B includes articles for Audubon, Outside, and The New Yorker. Titles include "The Last Great Strand" for Audubon (1967); "Burning Bright" (2002), "Footprints in the Last Wild Place" (2003), and "Mean Spirit" (1995) for Outside; and "Tiger in the Snow" for The New Yorker (1997). Considerable material is included for "In the Great Country," Matthiessen's contribution to the book Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land (2003).

Material in Series III., Personal and Career-Related, includes articles about Matthiessen, awards, interviews, photographs and slides, public appearances, and works of others. Awards include the Cooper Prize (2001), Heinz Award (1999), and the Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award (2002), among others. Visual images include photographs from Matthiessen's Paris Review days in the 1950s and his recent appearance at the 2000 Texas Book Festival. Public appearances include benefits, conferences, lectures, memorials, readings, and seminars.

Books and audio cassettes received with the Papers were transferred to appropriate departments within the Ransom Center.